WagonR Will Be Maruti Suzuki’s First Electric Vehicle; Plans To Sell 15 Lakh eVehicles By 2030!
Maruti had earlier announced investment of Rs 3900 crore for manufacturing electric vehicles.
This is now official: WagonR, the 24 year old kei car from Maruti Suzuki will be their first electric vehicle in India.
This marks Maruti’s grand entry into the nascent yet strongly growing electric car segment in India.
Can we expect Maruti to race ahead Tata and Mahindra in selling electric cars in India?
WagonR EV: Maruti Suzuki’s 1st Electric Car in India!
Last year, Maruti had declared their intentions regarding electric vehicles, and had committed an investment of Rs 3900 crore to set up their plant in Gujarat.
Now, after a year, things are materializing, and some concrete steps being taken.
WagonR, Maruti’s dependable small car which has proved to be a huge hit in India and abroad, has been decided as the car which will be offered as electric vehicle.
Toshiba has been roped in to help Maruti to roll out their new electric vehicles.
As per incoming reports, the new WagonR EV will be rolled out in 2 variants: 5-seater and 7-seater; and would be priced under Rs 10 lakh.
Some analysts have claimed that the new WagonR EV will be empowered with both fuel based engine, and an electric engine whose capability shall be between 25-35 MW.
The WagonR EV will be based on Suzuki Solio.
Why Gujarat?
Maruti Suzuki has decided to choose Gujarat as the venue for manufacturing their first electric vehicle, due to batteries.
Toshiba and Denso has announced their plans to set up battery manufacturing unit in Gujarat, and Maruti is aware that without batteries, their electric vehicles cannot run.
Hence, it makes perfect sense for Maruti Suzuki to be in Gujarat, and near to Toshiba for successfully launching their electric vehicles.
Can Maruti Handle Controversies?
Maruti Suzuki is planning to launch their WagonR EV by 2020, and aim to assist Govt. in introducing a new generation of electric vehicles. Maruti plans to sell 1.5 lakh electric cars every year till 2030, and thus cross 50 lakh car sales.
Right now, Maruti is responsible for 50% of all cars sold in India; and now, they want the same data for electric cars as well.
However, there has been some recent controversies related with electric cars from Tata and Mahindra, which Maruti can expect for them as well.
After Govt. sanctioned Tata Motors and Mahnidra to manufacture electric cars for them, Govt. officials have raised complaints against the cars delivered.
Although Tata Motors have responded to the allegations, there can be negativity and apprehensions related with electric vehicles, and if Maruti really wants to make a dent in this regard, then they will have to change the perception..
We will keep you updated as receive more inputs.
